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TBT: BEHIND THE SCENES: CHICAGO’S ELITE, THE STORY OF PHAZE II

Chicago’s own crosstown crew Phaze II celebrated their 32 years of existence earlier this month.
The recent occasion reminded us of a very important piece of history shot by Cypher Adikts own JeSkilz
2 years ago. The story goes a little something like this……

Wicked welcomed us with open arms into his home and gave us a Phaze II history lesson of a lifetime. I’ve always known about him and Phaze II, but never really knew the history of how everything came to be and why the crew stopped reping hard in the early 2000’s. I knew about his battle with cancer, his Pro-Am 98 victory, them going to BOTY 98, Kmel & Wicked vs FlowMaster & Wicket at Summit 99, but THE ONE thing I truly remember about Phaze II is that they showed me what it was to represent as a CREW in the Bboy scene. Back in 2000, I was a young up and coming bboy attending my first ever BBOY MASTERS PRO-AM. Day one of the event took place in an outside pavilion where registration took place. There I was waiting, when all of the sudden I look back and a pack of bboys ALL WEARING BABY BLUE skipped the line and went straight through. I had no idea who these guys were but I KNEW THEY MEANT BUSINESS AND DEMANDED RESPECT. I grew up in Los Angeles, CA in the late 80’s to mid 90’s, many of my family members represented gangs and when I saw this crew, thats what I saw– a well organized and well represented BBOY GANG. I kept my eye on them all weekend, and saw how they operated from cypher to cypher. Always together, always a unit, ready for war. From that jam on, I understood what a crew unit represented in our culture.

Wicked took his time to show us tons of old school footage from the 90’s and some from the 80’s. We saw numerous pictures and heard all these incredible stories, I was blown away. Shocked to not know many of the incredible things he was saying. I can go on and on about the amazing stories but even better, YOU CAN HEAR HIM and his brother, Mr. Do, tell these incredible stories!!!

Shout outs to Jeskilz for taking the time to put this mini documentary together.
A MAJOR SHOUT OUT TO WICKED AND THE PHAZE II FAMILY FOR IT’S 30+ years contribution to our community and culture……
ENJOY.

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[…] Chicago’s own crosstown crew Phaze II celebrated their 32 years of existence earlier this month. The recent occasion reminded us of a very important piece of history shot by Cypher Adikts …read more […]